


i'll play my fight song

by MaddieandChimney



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [4]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Broken Bones, F/M, Gen, Mentions of Violence, Mugging, past references (not graphic but implied if you know maddie) to domestic violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:28:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27906739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddieandChimney/pseuds/MaddieandChimney
Summary: Bad Things Happen Bingo: Broken Rib(s).“This was not your fault. You should be able to walk down the street without someone—” It’s as though he’s going to be sick, she can see the lump rising in his throat and how his face seems to pale impossibly more before he shakes his head. “without someone hurting you.”
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Maddie Buckley, Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1937749
Comments: 7
Kudos: 18





	i'll play my fight song

Maddie looks up the second Chimney runs into the hospital room, still in his uniform with a look of pure panic on his face when he looks her up and down. “Are you—oh my god.” He’s all too quick to shake his head, cutting himself off from his own question whilst his hands move to either side of her face, his touch delicate when he looks her in the eyes. “What the hell happened? Have you spoken to the police?”

His breathing is heavy and she can see the unshed tears in his eyes, trembling hands reaching for her hair as he carefully brushes it behind her ears. “I um, I was just… walking home after having coffee with Josh and he came out of nowhere. I should have just let go of my purse but—I didn’t… I don’t know why. I just—I don’t know. The police just left, I didn’t know how much… it happened too quickly.”

His touch is soft, fingers brushing over her already bruising eye, until his thumb grazes along the cut on her lip and the scrapes over her chin as carefully as he can. As though he’s memorizing every single injury he can see right then, the look in his eyes being something she’s never recognised before when he bites down on his trembling bottom lip and stares at her. “I’m okay—a few bruises, sprained wrist, broken ribs.” He flinches at her words, so she reaches out her hand to grab one of his, squeezing it tightly. “I’m sorry you had to leave work.”

She knows her brother won’t be far behind, she knows him well enough to imagine him pacing outside of the hospital right now in an attempt to calm himself down. Chimney, she can imagine he’s angry and feeling more protective than usual right then but he can cover it up better than her brother can. Hide it until he can’t anymore but she can feel it in the grip he has on her right then and the way he’s taking deep breaths in an attempt to keep himself calm. “You were mugged, Maddie, there is nowhere else I’d be right now.”

“I’m sorry, I should have just given it to him—”

“Hey, no, no… you’re not doing that, okay? You’re not blaming yourself for what happened. Look at me.” She does what he says, looking into his desperate eyes when his hand pulls from hers and he’s gently gripping at either side of her face once more. “This was not your fault. You should be able to walk down the street without someone—” It’s as though he’s going to be sick, she can see the lump rising in his throat and how his face seems to pale impossibly more before he shakes his head. “without someone hurting you.”

Maddie flinches when her teeth graze along her bottom lip, trying to stop the tears from falling when she looks at him, nodding her head slightly. The memory of being punched and then two swift kicks delivered to her side seems to be on repeat, reminding her of the life she’d once had. How once upon a time, when things had been _really_ bad with Doug, getting away with a black eye and two broken ribs had seemed like a blessing. It had been years since her last broken bone, something that had seemed to be more of a regular occurrence than not before she’d moved to LA. And now, it’s not a surprise that the memories are starting to get entwined within each other and it’s hard to distinguish between what happened today and what happened three years ago.

There’s a tension in her chest that she wants to ward off, knowing how much a panic attack would only intensify the pain rushing through her body right then as she tries to take as deep a breath as she can without aggravating her side. Chimney knows, he always does after two and a half years together and a beautiful one year old daughter. “You’re okay, Maddie, I’ve got you. I’ve always got you. Which side is it?” She gestures to her right hand side, giving him a small, tear-filled smile when he rests his hand on her left side and pulls her close to him, letting her head rest on his chest. “Breathe with me, okay? I know your mind is taking you other places right now and I wish I could take that away, I really do but I need you to focus on me and breathe with me.”

He exaggerates his own breathing when he finishes speaking, so she can feel the way his chest rises and falls against her head, her eyes closing when she tries to follow the pattern as carefully as she can, feeling the way his thumb brushes along her non-injured side as she does. It had been broad daylight, she’d assumed she would be fine… it was just a few blocks and their daughter was at her grandparents for the day and she had wanted to enjoy the LA sunshine. Josh had even offered to walk with her but she’d laughed and told him she’d be fine, it wasn’t far and she had always felt relatively safe in LA.

She supposes sometimes it’s easy to believe that when she had spent sixteen years of her life not feeling safe behind closed doors.

It was a nice day, quiet because it was the middle of the workday for anyone who didn’t work shifts and she had decided to take a shortcut through the park, not thinking about who was around her when she’d checked her phone to make sure Mrs Lee hadn’t called her. And then he had come out of nowhere, demanding she handed over her bag and her phone and she wishes she had but her grip had tightened and she’d promised herself once that she would never be a victim again, as though she had any control over that.

Maddie had held onto that bag and her phone as tightly as she possibly could, with a stubborn look on her face and a desperate look around to see if anyone was there, if anyone could help. She hadn’t seen his fist flying towards her, her phone flying out, smashed and suddenly useless to him as she felt her wrist bend back with the rapidness of which she hit the floor. Years of therapy couldn’t have stopped her mind going straight back to Doug the second she felt that all too familiar stinging on the side of her face or the taste of blood. The sound of bone snapping just a few seconds later before he was gone had only driven her further into her memories, gasping for air until someone found her and dialled 9-1-1.

Her nails are digging into his skin as she grips onto him a little tighter, “T-they said I can go home but… I don’t want Amelia seeing me like this.” She finally manages to get out, each word breathy and filled with desperation as she grasps onto him as though he’s the only thing keeping her grounded right then. It hurts to breathe, it hurts to think and to speak and to feel the goodness of her current husband as he tries to soothe her with gentle touches and softly whispered words in her ear.

“It’s okay, the Lees have already offered to take her for the night.” She pulls back, just enough to tilt her head up to look at him, the tears falling and the tension in her chest tight as she tries to remind herself that she’s not back in Hershey anymore and she’s married to a man who loves her and who would never hurt her. She tries to separate the two memories as best she can, telling herself that both Doug and the stranger today were two entirely different entities and that she would be okay. Definitely not today and maybe not tomorrow but she would be because she had Chimney who was staring at her right then with such protective intensity that it’s easier to feel as though she’s safe. Or at least, that she could feel that way when she’s home and not filled with the powerful memories being in a hospital room seems to bring back.

“Let’s get you home and don’t worry about anything else other than healing, I’ll cancel your cards—I’ll sort everything out. I just… you focus on healing.” She’s slow to slide off the bed, guided by his hand that lingers on her left side before he’s wrapping an arm around her waist as carefully as he can and her arm wraps around his shoulder in response. She can lean on him both literally and metaphorically, she always has been able to as her head rests on his shoulder and she lets her own hand fall to her right side to try and alleviate some of the pressure the new movement has.

“I-I think I need to book an appointment with Frank…”

“I’ll sort that, too. Don’t you worry about a thing, I’ve got you.” Despite it all, she can’t help but smile, sniffing as they walk out of the room and towards the corridor, where she can see her brother waiting for them. “I’m not leaving your side until you’re healed.” There’s a determination in his voice that lets her know that he’s telling the truth, that she’s stuck (happily) with her husband next to her until she’s ready, knowing ‘until you’re healed’ means much more than just the physical sense.

“I love you.” She finally manages to get out, suddenly wary that she hasn’t said it enough because whilst she’s certain that the mugger wouldn’t have killed her today, it’s still a reminder of how fragile life can be and she’s certain Chimney has gone days without hearing those words from her.

She’s not looking at him but she can hear the smile in his voice, as well as the tears he’s still working hard on holding back, “I love you, too.” She’s never gone longer than a day without hearing it from him, so she makes a mental note to never forget, forcing a smile that probably appears as more of a grimace when her brother is at her other side with a hand on her upper back as they carry on walking.

Maddie tries not to let it show, each breath and every step causing a wave of pain to rush through her and she sort of wishes she hadn’t refused to sit in the wheelchair the nurses had offered her as hospital regulation when she’d been discharged. She finds herself leaning a little more on Chimney as they walk in silence, feeling the protectiveness from both men exhuming from their very being as Buck’s jaw is set and Chimney’s fingers curl around the fabric of her top.

She feels safe, in spite of everything… with Chimney and with her brother, she feels _safe._ And right then, she can’t ask for anything more.


End file.
